Apron device



March 1959 s; s. SHAPIRO 2,879,514

APRON DEVICE Filed May 3, 1957 I- In @727'573 igll SPIO,

United States Patent APRON DEVICE.

Sydelle S. Shapiro, Pittsfield, Mass. Application May 3, 1957, Serial No. 656,932.

3 Claims. (Cl. 2-48) The present invention relates tov an article of apparel, and more particularly concerns a. garment for protecting the clothes of the wearer while bathing a small child and serving as a towel for receiving and drying the child.

In bathing an infant or small child, such as in the usual baby bath, tub or the like the mother or nurse to avoid chilling the wet and uncovered baby. During,

this procedure the mother is again subjectedto thewetting of her clothes in holding the wet child.

It is an object of the present invention to provide means for overcoming the above and similar difliculties attendant on bathing or caring for infants and the like.

It is another object of the invention to provide an article of manufacture which is adapted to protect the clothes of the wearer during and after the bathing procedure, and to receive and dry the bathed' child.

It is a further object of the invention. to provide a combined apron and towel device adapted. to be worn by a person bathing an infant or the like, whichis easily put on. for use, effectively protects the clothing of the wearer, is readily adapted while being. worn for receiving and wrapping the wet child, and is easily removable from the body of the wearer with the child wrapped therein.

It is still another object of the. invention to provide an article of apparel of the above type which is neat and pleasing in appearance when worn as. a garment and is easy and economicalto manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

With the above objects in View, the present invention concerns a combined apron and towel device formed of a sheet of material which is preferably absorbent, such as terry cloth or the like, the sheet of material having a lower portion adapted to be wrapped around the lower part of the wearers body and upper portion for covering the upper part of the wearers body, and comprising readily detachable fastening means for holding the lower and: upper sheet portions in wearing position on. the wearers body, the lower sheet portion including an extended wrap-around portion which is adapted, when the lower portion is detached from wearing position, to be folded over the front of the wearer for covering a child held by the wearer.

The invention will be better understood by referring to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view of the wearer with the present apron device fastened in wearing position;

Fig. 2 is a view of the wearer holding a child preparaapron device comprising a sheet 1 which can be of any suitable material, but is preferably of soft absorbent textile material such as toweling or terry cloth. Sheet 1 is formed of a front body covering panel comprising an.

upper front portion 2. which is adapted to cover the upper front part of the wearers body, including the chest and shoulders, and a lower. skirt covering portion 3 which is elongated laterally for wrapping around the lower portion of the wearers body.

Upper sheet portion 2. includes a neckpiece 6 shaped. to encircle the neck and substantially cover the shoulders of the wearer. The free end 6a of the neckpiece 6 is provided, preferably on the underside thereof as shown, with fastening means 4 adapted to engage complementary fastening means. 4a on the adjacent part of upper portionv 2 to secure neckpiece 6 around the neck in wearing position. Preferably, a plurality of fastener elements 4' such as snap buttons or the like are provided for selective attachment to complementary fastener 4a such as a snapbutton socket to enable proper adjustment and fitting of the neckpiece 6 on the wearer. The fastening means 4, 4a in accordance with the invention are readily detachable from one another, and for this purpose snaptype or gripper fasteners of conventional construction. are particularly suitable. However, other types of readily. detachable fastening means may be used if desired, such. as hook and eye fasteners and the like.

In the preferred arrangement, the free end 6a of neckpiece 6 overlaps the front of the adjacent part of the upper portion 2 to which it is attached, in the manner shown, in order to facilitate its detachment by the wearer as described below and shown in Fig. 4.

Lower sheet portion 3 (see Fig, 5) includes. a wraparound, rear skirt covering portion 3a having an extended end portion 3b tapering from the lower edge of. portion 3a to the upper edge at the corner A. As will be seen from Fig. 5, the skirt covering extension comprising portions 3a, 3b, as measured along its upper edge, is approximately twice the width of portion 3 of the front panel. A set of fastening means 5 is secured on the underside and along the upper edge of wrap-around portion 3a. about mid-way thereof and having a plurality of elements selectively engageable with acomplementary fastener 5a secured on the front side of the apron 1. Preferably, fastener 5a is arranged on portion 3 at about the level of fastener 5, i.e., about waist-high, and near the end edge of portion 3 illustrated. Fastener means 5, 5a are readily separable similarly to fastener means-4, 4a and may be of the types described above, and a plurality of elements are. also" preferably provided for fastener 5v topermit proper. fitting:

Patented Mar. 31, 1959 wrap-around portion opposite the tapered edge, as-

the extended portion 3b hangs therefrom in a drape sired, could obviously be formed with the elongated portion extending in the opposite direction for wrapping around to the right of the wearer. It is generally preferable, however, for the respective sets of fastening means 4, 4a and 5, 5a to be on opposite sides of the wearers body, for reasons apparent hereinafter.

Having bathed the infant while wearing the apron as shown in Fig. 1, the wearer, preparatory to picking up the child for drying, preferably first detaches fastening means 5, 5a, which results in the wrap-around portion 3a with extended drape portion 3b falling loosely around to the left of the wearer. The wearer then picks up the child from the bath, lays him on her right shoulder, and grasps the drape portion 3b with her left hand preparatory to covering the child with it, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2.

Fig. 3 shows the child covered with the extended drape portion 3b folded over the front of the wearer who after grasping it has merely swung the portion 3b over the child in one simple movement. Then with the thus enwrapped child held securely on the shoulder by the right hand, the wearer can readily detach the neckpiece 6 by grasping the end 6a with the left hand, as shown in Fig. 4. She then lays the wrapped baby on a table or other supporting surface, and in so doing automatically removes the apron-towel device from herself.

As a result, the Wearers clothes under the apron-towel remain dry and unsoiled, the baby has been rapidly and fully covered and has been dried immediately after his bath, and the operation is made extremely simple and effective by virtue of the use of the combined apron and towel device as described.

While the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments thereof, it will be understood that numerous modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without actually departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to cover all such equivalent variations as come within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An apron comprising a sheet of material having a front body covering panel formed of an upper chest and shoulder covering portion and a lower skirt covering portion, said skirt covering portion being formed with an elongated extension forming the rear skirt covering portion of the apron, said chest and shoulder covering portion having a downwardly extending free side edge and said rear skirt covering portion having a longitudinally extending free upper edge meeting with said free side edge of said chest and shoulder covering portion, means on said upper chest and shoulder covering portion for holding the latter in wearing position on the wearer, and co-operating readily detachable fastening means on said front body covering panel and said rear skirt covering portion for holding said rear skirt covering portion in wearing position on the wearer, said rear skirt covering portion being adapted when detached from wearing position to be folded over the front of the wearer to cover an infant held by the wearer.

2. An apron comprising a sheet of material having a front body covering panel formed of an upper chest and shoulder covering portion and a lower skirt covering portion, said upper chest and shoulder covering portion having a neckpiece with a free end for extending around the wearers neck, said skirt covering portion being formed with an elongated extension forming the rear skirt covering portion of the apron, said chest and shoulder covering portion having a downwardly extending free side edge and said rear skirt covering portion having a longitudinally extending free upper edge meeting with said free side edge of said chest and shoulder covering portion, first co-operating readily detachable fastening means at the free end of said neckpiece and on said upper chest and shoulder covering portion for holding the latter in wearing position on the wearer, and second cooperating readily detachable fastening means on said front body covering panel and said rear skirt covering portion for holding said rear skirt covering portion in wearing position on the wearer, said rear skirt covering portion being adapted when detached from wearing position to be folded over the front of the wearer to cover an infant held by the wearer.

3. An apron comprising a sheet of material having a front body covering panel formed of an upper chest and shoulder covering portion and a lower skirt covering portion, said upper chest and shoulder covering portion having a neckpiece with a free end for extending around the wearers neck and attachable to said chest and shoulder covering portion on one side of the wearer, said skirt covering portion being formed with an elongated extension substantially twice the width of the front skirt covering portion and forming the rear skirt covering portion of the apron and including an extended end section forming a prolongation of the rear skirt covering portion, said chest and shoulder covering portion having a downwardly extending free side edge at said one side and said rear skirt covering portion having a longitudinally extending free upper edge meeting with said free side edge of said chest and shoulder covering portion, first co-operating readily detachable fastening means at the free end of said neckpiece and on said chest and shoulder covering portion at said one side for holding the latter portion in wearing position on the wearer, and second co-operating readily detachable fastening means about waist-high on the other side of said front body covering panel and at the free upper edge of said rear skirt covering portion for holding the latter portion in wearing position on the wearer, whereby said extended end section is adapted to hang from said second fastening means in wearing position in a drape along said other side of the wearer, said elongated extension when detached from wearing position being adapted to be folded over the front of the wearer to cover an infant held by the wearer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,848,040 Ash Mar. 1, 1932 2,299,232 Heyser Oct. 20, 1942 2,433,820 Tarbell Dec. 30, 1947 2,458,062 Davenport Ian. 4, 1949 2,706,817 Schneider Apr. 26, 1955 2,722,685 Lucas Nov. 8, 1955 

